Dive Review of
Nan Sea Charters/Wyndham Martineau Bay Resort & Spa in
Puerto Rico/Vieques

Almost every island in the eastern Caribbean, as well as Florida, Belize,
the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, etc.

Dive Conditions

Everyone was diving with computers, and the computers set the limits (we
did not, however, dive any deep sites)  

[None]  

Overall Rating

It had been about six and a half years since my wife and I had been to
Vieques (May 1998).  Back then, the accomodations were pretty limited, and
there was only one dive shop on the island (Blue Caribe Divers).  The
diving was so-so then, but we decided that it was time for a return trip
after the new Wyndham resort on the north shore finally opened in February
2004 (it was under construction by others when we were there in 1998).

There's one less dive shop now -- Blue Caribe is operated as a kyaking
center specializing in night trips to the biolumenescent bay.  But the last
owner of the dive shop still lives on the island, and he runs two tank
dives departing from the pier in Esperanza, the only town on the south
shore, and the primary social center on the island for tourists.

We were in Vieques for a long Thanksgiving weekend, and only managed to get
in one day of diving.  But Chipper ran a nice operation, the visibility was
excellent, the dives were leisurely, and the tropicals were plentiful.  On
our first dive, a hawksbill turtle greeted us as we dropped down to the
bottom at about 75 feet, and seemed to be in no hurry to leave the area. 
In my view, any dive with a turtle is a good dive, so this was an
auspiceous start.

Chipper's limit is six divers, but there were only three customers plus
Chipper diving the day I was out, along with Chipper's assistant Dave, a
newly certified instructor and a professional photographer.  It wasn't very
rough, but the other two divers were seasick and didn't make the second
dive, so Chipper and I had the entire ocean to ourselves.

It isn't great diving, but its certainly good enough to make a brief trip
to Vieques appealing.  They leave promptly at 8:30 in the morning, the dive
sites are only a few minutes away, and you're back in Esperanza in plenty
of time for lunch at one of the many restaurants along the waterfront. 
Since the Navy left, and the Wyndham opened, tourism is gradually on the
rise, and there are plenty of good restauarants and watering holes on both
sides of the island.  

Vieques is about about a 15 minute flight from San Juan, so it's easy to
get there from the States (you can take a high speed ferry from Fajardo,
too, which takes about 30 minutes).  The Wyndham was a great place to stay,
with plenty of uncrowded beaches (most guests seemed to prefer the pool),
and there are lots of good boutique hotels on the island, as well.  Next
time you're considering a quick trip to the Caribbean, consider making
Vieques your destination. 

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